Matt Senk

Last updated

Matt Senk
Matt Senk (cropped).jpg
Senk in 2014
Biographical details
Alma mater Cortland State University
Adelphi University
Playing career
1977–1980 Cortland State
Position(s) Catcher
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
198? Elwood (NY) John Glenn (Asst.)
198?–1987 Rockville Centre (NY) Saint Agnes
1988–1990 Uniondale (NY) Kellenberg Memorial
1991–2025 Stony Brook
Head coaching record
Overall971–696–4
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
  • 6× America East Regular season Championships (2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2019, 2021)
  • 6× America East Tournament championships (2004, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2019)
  • NCAA Regional Champion (2012)
  • NCAA Super Regional Champion (2012)
  • College World Series Appearance (2012)
Awards

Matt Senk is an American college baseball coach who served as the head coach of the Stony Brook Seawolves. Senk held the head coaching position at Stony Brook from 1991 until his retirement in 2025. [1] [2] [3] [4] Under Senk, Stony Brook has won America East Conference baseball tournaments in 2004, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2015, and 2019, appearing in the NCAA tournament each of those seasons. [5] In 2012, Stony Brook won the Coral Gables Regional and advanced to the Baton Rouge Regional to face LSU. [4] After defeating LSU in a three-game series, the team moved on to the College World Series for the first time in program history. It was the first time that a school from the Northeast had reached the College World Series since 1986. [6]

Contents

Senk won the 2012 America East Conference Coach of the Year Award and went on to win the NCBWA National Coach of Year Award. [7] [8]

Career

Senk graduated from John Glenn High School in 1976 and attended Cortland State for college, where he played catcher. [9] In college, Senk started for three years and was a two-time All-SUNYAC selection and the team's Most Valuable Player in his senior year. [10] [11] He earned his master's degree in physical education at Adelphi University. [10]

Senk coached high school teams at St. Agnes Cathedral and Kellenberg Memorial on Long Island before leaving his position to start coaching Stony Brook's Division III baseball team in 1991. [9] Senk recruited shortstop Joe Nathan of Pine Bush, New York, to play for Stony Brook through a Pine Bush assistant coach that was a former college teammate of his. [12] Nathan would become Senk's first recruit to reach the major leagues when he debuted for the San Francisco Giants as a pitcher in 1999. [12]

In 2004, Senk won his first America East tournament to advance to the NCAA tournament regionals for the first time in the program's Division I history. [13] Senk won his first America East Coach of the Year in 2011 after guiding the Seawolves to their first conference regular season championship and ending the season 42–12 while going 22–2 in conference play. [14] In 2012, Senk guided the Seawolves to their fourth NCAA tournament regional after earning the most wins in the country; the Seawolves would win the Coral Gables Regional as the four-seed and then upset the LSU Tigers in the Baton Rouge Super Regionals to reach the first College World Series in program history, while also becoming the first Northeast school to accomplish the feat since 1986 and the first New York school since 1980. Finishing the season at 52–15, Senk won the NCBWA National Coach of the Year award. [15]

In September 2019, Senk was given an extension through the 2024 season. [16]

In 2022, Senk was inducted into the Suffolk County Sports Hall of Fame. [17] The America East Conference suspended Senk for the first nine games of the 2022 season "in response to an incident that occurred during the 2021 season in which Coach Senk acted contrary to NCAA Baseball Rules and America East Bylaws governing conduct." [18]

On March 8, 2023 with a 15–5 victory over LIU, Senk won his 900th game, becoming the seventh active Division I baseball head coach to win 900 games at one school. [19]

On May 8, 2025, Senk announced that he will retire following the 2025 season after 35 years at Stony Brook. [20]

Head coaching record

Below is a table of Senk's yearly records as an NCAA head baseball coach. [1] [2] [3] [5] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25]

Statistics overview
SeasonTeamOverallConferenceStandingPostseason
Stony Brook Patriots (Skyline Conference (Division III))(1991–1994)
1991Stony Brook 16–9
1992Stony Brook 17–12–1ECAC Tournament
1993Stony Brook 13–14–12-6T-4th
1994Stony Brook 26–97-11stECAC Tournament
Stony Brook Patriots (Independent (Division III))(1995–1995)
1995Stony Brook 30–8NCAA Regional
Stony Brook Seawolves (New England Collegiate Conference (Division II))(1996–1998)
1996Stony Brook 27–149-9ECAC Tournament
1997Stony Brook 15–199-7
1998Stony Brook 23–11–112-3-1ECAC Tournament
1999Stony Brook 36–1212-4ECAC Tournament
Stony Brook Seawolves (New York State Baseball Conference (Division I))(2000–2001)
2000 Stony Brook 30–11
2001 Stony Brook 35–1610–0
Stony Brook Seawolves (America East Conference)(2002–2022)
2002 Stony Brook 27–2411–11T–3rdAmerica East Tournament
2003 Stony Brook 33–2115–93rd America East tournament
2004 Stony Brook 29–2711–104th NCAA Regional
2005 Stony Brook 23–2810–11T–5th
2006 Stony Brook 25–2913–82nd America East tournament
2007 Stony Brook 31–2416–72nd America East tournament
2008 Stony Brook 34–2614–102nd NCAA Regional
2009 Stony Brook 29–2314–10T–3rd America East tournament
2010 Stony Brook 30–2715–93rd NCAA Regional
2011 Stony Brook 42–1222–21st America East tournament
2012 Stony Brook 52–1521–31st College World Series
2013 Stony Brook 25–3415–154th America East tournament
2014 Stony Brook 35–1818–51st America East tournament
2015 Stony Brook 35–16–118–4–11st NCAA Regional
2016 Stony Brook 27–2711–83rd America East tournament
2017 Stony Brook 26–2612–103rd America East tournament
2018 Stony Brook 32–2512–124th America East tournament
2019 Stony Brook 31–2315–91st NCAA Regional
2020 Stony Brook 6–90–0Season canceled because of COVID-19
2021 Stony Brook 31–1825–101st (Division B) America East tournament
2022 Stony Brook 27–2521–91st (Division B)
Stony Brook Seawolves (Colonial Athletic Association)(2023–2025)
2023 Stony Brook 23–2914–167th
2024 Stony Brook 24–2812–15T-8th
2025 Stony Brook 25–2711–16T-8th
Total:971–696–4 (.582)37–47 (.440)

      National champion        Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion        Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "2010 Stony Brook Seawolves Baseball Media Guide". Issuu. Archived from the original on August 9, 2016. Retrieved June 8, 2012.
  2. 1 2 "College Baseball Conference Standings – 2010". BoydsWorld.com. Archived from the original on February 14, 2013. Retrieved June 8, 2012.
  3. 1 2 "America East Conference 2012 Season Preview". CollegeBaseballToday.com. February 11, 2012. Archived from the original on March 13, 2016. Retrieved June 8, 2012.
  4. 1 2 "LSU to Host Stony Brook in Super Regional". KSLA.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 8, 2012.
  5. 1 2 "America East Baseball Record Book" (PDF). AmericaEast.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 30, 2012. Retrieved June 8, 2012.
  6. "Stony Brook Defeats L.S.U. to Advance to College World Series". The New York Times . June 11, 2012. Archived from the original on June 12, 2012. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  7. "2012 Coral Gables Regional". CollegeBaseballInsider.com. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 8, 2012.
  8. "Senk named 2012 NCBWA Coach of the Year". goseawolves.org. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
  9. 1 2 Marcus, Steven (May 26, 2012). "Senk loves being big fish in SBU's small pond". Newsday. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  10. 1 2 "Matt Senk - Head Coach - Staff Directory". Stony Brook University Athletics. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  11. "'40 for 40' Celebrates Div. III Week - SUNY Cortland". www2.cortland.edu. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  12. 1 2 Oakes, Tim (May 14, 2017). "Matt Senk: the steady hand in the swift growth of Stony Brook Baseball". The Statesman. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  13. "Seawolves Crowned America East Champions". Stony Brook University Athletics. May 29, 2004. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  14. "Regular-Season Champion Stony Brook Sweeps Individual Awards". americaeast.com. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  15. "NCBWA > Awards > National Coach of the Year". www.sportswriters.net. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  16. Tam, Ethan (September 29, 2019). "Athletics announces extension for Senk through 2024". The Statesman. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  17. Release, Press (January 16, 2022). "Legendary Seawolves Coach Matt Senk enshrined in Suffolk County Sports Hall of Fame". TBR News Media. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  18. Lindsay, Matt (August 10, 2021). "Stony Brook baseball head coach to serve nine-game suspension". The Statesman. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  19. "Baseball Offense Explodes Against LIU; Coach Senk Records 900th Career Victory". Stony Brook University Athletics. March 8, 2023. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
  20. "Matt Senk Announces Retirement After 35 Seasons at Stony Brook" (Press release). Stony Brook Seawolves. May 8, 2025. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
  21. "2012 America East Baseball Standings". AmericaEast.com. Archived from the original on April 24, 2013. Retrieved June 8, 2012.
  22. Marcus, Steve (May 12, 1994). "Haag Leads Seawolves". Newsday. Long Island, NY. p. A92. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved June 8, 2012.
  23. Pelzman, J.P. (December 19, 1994). "Stony Brook in a League of Its Own". Newsday. Long Island, NY. p. A40. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved October 15, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
  24. "Bruce Kirsh". Athletics.FranklinPierce.edu. Archived from the original on May 14, 2012. Retrieved June 8, 2012. He served as the assistant commissioner to the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC), one of the most competitive all-around NCAA Division II conference in the nation before its run ended after the 1999–2000 season.
  25. "2013 America East Conference Baseball Standings". AmericaEast.com. Archived from the original on April 24, 2013. Retrieved May 25, 2013.